Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ian's mother's family had a family reunion at Big Bear [my mother's family had one earlier this summer in Kamas, Utah, but apparently I didn't take any pictures... :( ]

Here are some photos of the whole crew.

While there, we went somewhere that I have remembered since my early childhood, but had no idea where it was actually located- Alpine Slide!

Serra and I on the ski lift- not a bad picture considering I took it myself!

Geared up and ready to go the first time!

Later in the day, Aunt Christina went with Serra- she was a good sport and even "helped" Serra make it to the finish line. :)

We also went shopping in the little downtown part of Big Bear.
Serra just HAD to get a candy necklace from the candy store- she ate it while we walked the rest of the shopping trip.

And when I saw these chairs, I just had to get a picture- SO FUN!

It was a great trip, we made lots of memories. However, I am glad to finally not be moving or vacationing- this should be the conclusion to all our trips this year [unless we make an unplanned one at the holidays for kicks and giggles] YAY!

We were going to be in Southern California for a few days for a family reunion on Ian's side, so we decided that while we were so close we should go to the most magical place on earth- DISNEYLAND! And it WAS magical!

Greeting us right at the front gate was Mickey Mouse- Alex was intrigued by his giant nose [after the picture he grabbed it] and Serra was a little reserved because she still hadn't figured out where we were yet.

Serra saw the huge castle and immediately chanted "my blue castle" anytime she could see it [which was a lot that day].

The first characters we found after she realized this was a pretty cool place, she was SO excited that it was Woody & Jessie that she didn't even pose for a picture- she wanted hugs!

Serra's favorite ride was the Winnie the Pooh ride, so we got a picture of all the fam with Pooh right outside the ride- and we rode it 2 times [although Serra would have had us ride it 10... Mommy can only handle so much though]

Alex was very intrigued with the carousel. :)

Serra was a little more reserved- if she had claws, they would be stuck into the bar to help her hold on!

Such a cutie!

Serra got an umbrella with her name put on it [since we spell her name differently, it's impossible to find anything with her name on it- unless you specifically have it done!]

And now to Serra's favorite part of the day... PRINCESSES! First there was Ariel.

Then BELLE [she shouted that when she saw her]!

And then... "who are you?" Yeah... awesome, right? Luckily Serra was willing to pose with the unknown princess anyway. Looks like we need to watch Princess and the Frog again...

And Serra's ABSOLUTE FAVORITE [I mean, she's dressed like her and naturally looks like her with her blond hair, green eyes, and facial structure...] R A P U N Z E L!!!!!! Rapunzel was pretty cool- it had an hour wait, but that's because you go in her house and she talks to you for a few minutes and poses for several pictures. I guess it's because she's new to the park, but Serra was loving the 1-on-1 time.

And this was Daddy's favorite part. :)

Here are the kiddos at home sportin' their Disneyland hats [Serra got hers at her first Disneyland visit when she was Alex's age].

And, of course, we had their names embroidered on them for keepsakes. What a fun trip- totally worth the time, money, and stress!